Flexible ventilating hose



Aug. 17 1926. 1,596,418 W. H. EVANS FLEXIBLE VENTILATING HOSE Filed August 9. 19.24 m JZjj Patented Aug. 17, 1926.

UNITED STAZBTI as PATENT OFFICE;

WILLIAM HOOIPER EVANS, OF BIRIIEINGHAM, ALABAMA.

FLEXIBLE VENTILATING HO SE.

Application filed August 9, 192-4. Serial No; 731,183.

My invention relates to a flexible fabric ventilating hose such as is in general use in mines and the like for conveying air under relatively low pressure into the workings.

Pipe of the character in question has heretofore been generally manufactured of canvas which is a fabric woven from cotton and in some instances has been made up from fabric woven from wool. Such fabrics after being suitably water-proofed to render them air tight are cut into long strips which have their longitudinal edges stitched together to form a hose section. Grommets are usually mounted in the side seam for the reception. of the suspension wire, cable or the like which is usually employed for suspending the hose in the mine workings where it will be out of the way and least liable to injury.

Obviously hose for the purposes in question is used under conditions whicherpcse it constantly to moisture, and experience has shown that the fabrics heretofore used in the manufacture of the hose will be attacked with mildew, fungus, or like disease resulting from long subjection to moisture, or acid water and will rapidly deteriorate. So serious is this problem that under normal conditions of the mine usage piping though well water-proofed will not in many instances last more than six weeks.

I have further observed, after long practical experience with air hose of the character in question, that the strain of suspen sion of the pipe either horizontally or vertically results very shortly in a tearing or breaking of the seam when the pipe is handled and this is particularly true in the case of hose suspended vertically where the upper sections must carry the load of the lower sections which hang therefrom.

The object of my present invention is to provide an air hose of the character in question which shall possess the maximum dura bility and strength without being materially increased in cost, and such object is at tained; first, by weaving the fabric from -which the hose is formed of animal hair which will be substantially proof against mildew or fungus attack under conditions of moisture, the best hair for this purpose which I have found being a mixture of camel and llama hair, which will, after treatment to render it moisture-proof, last indefinitely; and second, by taking care of the main stresses and strains on the seam of the hose by a reinforcing element which extends the length of the hose section and is suitably anchored at its ends.

My invention in its preferred embodiment will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which Fig. 1 shows part of a section of hose equipped with the reinforcement according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section on the line 22 of Fig. 1. I

Fig. 3 is a small sized view of a complete hose section.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

I illustrate a hose section 1 having suitable joint forming ends 2 which can be of any desired character and provided, intermediate said joints, with a side seam 3 having the two seam members 6 and 7 and an extension edge 8 on the seam member 7 which is folded back down against the member 6 and bound to the other two seam members by the stitching t and 5. I place in the loop formed at the outer ends of the members 7 and 8 a rope, cable or'other reinforcing element 10 and through the seam members 6, 7 and 8 between the scams 4 and 5 I pass grommets 11, the cable being an chored at both ends by being passed around the end grommets and bound in at its free end by stitching 12, or anchored in any other suitable manner which will hold it firmly so that it will resist the stresses and suspension strains which may fall on the seam or hose. By thus incorporating the reinforcement in the seam it is in position to reinforce the grommets and it makes ,it unnecessary to pass the stitching 4 about the grommets which is the present practice and which involves added expense in manufacture.

The fabric from which the hose is formed is woven of animal. hair, preferably camel hair or a mixture of camel and llama hair, which is subsequently water-proofed. I have discovered that fabric woven of such hair not only possesses great strength, which is already well known from the use of camel hair for belting and the like, but has the added property of being highly resistant to fungus attack when subjected for long periods of dampness, acid water, and moisture and this property is more valuable for the purposes which I have in mind than the mere element of strength in the fabric itself.

Though I have described with great particularity the details of the embodiment of the invention herein shown, it is not to be construed that I am limited thereto, as changes in arrangement and substitution of equivalents may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

An air hose for ventilating mines and the like, formed of flexible fabric sewn at a longitudinal butt-joint into tubular form, and having a longitudinal flexible reinforcing element extending the length of said joint and secured to the hose at its ends and grommets mounted near the ends of said joint, the free ends of the reinforcing element being passed around said end grommets and secured against displacement In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM HOOPER EVANS. 

